Hello all, was just hoping to find some first hand information.

I've been driving for 5 years, but recently had to leave a job because I moved to Arizona (well out of my former employers area of operations.) So, I have been looking around trying to find a new carrier to sign on with. I'm not a big fan of large carriers, so I guess that limits me a bit. Anyhow, the best offer I have gotten so far is from a small refirgerated company. Trouble is, I've never pulled a refer before. Learning how to deal with a refer unit doesn't seem to hard at face value. But, the company I am considering does a lot of produce work. I have no idea what is involved in hauling "garbage." So I was hoping for some first hand info, maybe some tips or pointers. Any help would be appreciated. I have no doubt I can do the job. But any info I can get will bring me up to speed that much quicker. Thank you in advance.

Keep fuel in the tank. Don't freeze the load, don't let the load freeze, don't melt the ice cream. Refers cool and heat.
Pre cool the trailer before loading, but don't run the refer with the doors open.
You will be going to warehouses, markets, fields and farms to load.
Unloading is where the trouble shows up, lumpers and unload fees. Some places require "blue pallets", that means re stacking the whole load.
Be sure you understand what the company "policies" are for load/unload fees. The company has to be watched on this. I've seen guns drawn over a truckload of watermelons. :shock:

Learn how to "jump" the truck batteries, when the alternator goes south.

Good advice so far. But I have a few questions

1. As far as precooling goes, on refrigerated loads how does one know what temperature to preset at, and how long does it take for a closed trailer to reach temperature?

2. As for lumpers Why in the heck do they still exist? OK, that was a rhetorical question. But seriously, how does one know in advance what a lumper will cost. Or do you just drive around with wads of cash to be on the safe side? (I know they exist in the world of dry freight, but in all my years pulling dry box, I've never once dealt with a lumper.

3. I've heard talk of "pulp temperature" checks for produce. Are there target temperatures for specific produce, or is it more a matter of assuring that the produce isn't frozen by the chilling process?

4. What is the deal with pallet exchanges? This is something else I've never had to deal with.

5. When hauling mostly produce is it safe to assume that trailer washouts will be frequent? Or is that on an as needed basis?

6. Is Hunts Point really as bad as they say it is?

When given your load assignment, there are the details of the load at the bottom in the freeform text area where sales or dispatch can type in any extra info you might need. There could even be a spot in the preset fields of the load assignment for reefer temp. Pay attention and don't show up to load with your trailer needed at 0 F and it's at a solid 85 F...

Think of it this way. It's cheaper for receivers to have a third party doing the heavy work (literally). It's the same as companies who like to hire O/O. It is cheaper for the companies to pay the O/O $x.xx rate than it is to buy a truck, trailer, maint., fuel, driver, benefits, etc. Unless the receiver is a brand new customer, it is unlikely that sales or dispatch would NOT know that they use lumpers only. In addition, the rate is often negotiated ahead of time. Everyone involved knows how the freight is being loaded (pallets or sheets, floor to ceiling or front to back or both, etc.) and the lumpers are expecting you. I've only paid for lumpers using Comcheks. I personally like having a few hundred dollars in there at all times, then writing the check without having to ask dispatch for an approval. This way there is no delay if the amount to unload is unknown when arriving. After I write the check, I then ask for dispatch to give me a reference number and place the money (back) into my account.

I've never hauled fresh produce, but as I understood it you check each unit as it's loaded as to not have a hot unit. 1 high temp unit can run the temp up on all of them. I think... :P

I never had a pallet exchange load either.

Washouts are fun. Try being empty in Yonkers and dispatch has no idea where to get a washout. According to truck stop book, the closest washout was in Maybrook, NY (71 miles), about 2 miles from the OCC shop. This was quite a run up there to get washed out, then run the 71 miles back to Newark. Oh hell, what a day. All food shippers are going to want a clean floor. Frozen or fresh.

I don't know. I've heard it's bad, but I've been to some horrible places that are nowhere near NYC.

I pull reefer everyday, I pull frozen and refrigerated at the same time with a dual cooler unit and sometimes with a straight truckload trailer...

hauling a reefer around is not much different than a dry van, I haul alot of dry loads all the time with the unit shut off...

some tips are like the ones above, really good advice is to pre-cool the box, you have 2 modes of operation, continuous run or start and stop.... continuous will keep that temp at all times , if it gets below the temp the heater comes on and if above the freezer comes on to cool it back down, start and stop will have a range, most times it well on most of my loads is 10 degrees either side and will do the same, will heat if it falls way below and comes on to cool when the limit it broken above...here is some temps that I always use...

candy loads - 60 degrees continuous

fresh meat (RAW) - 25 degrees continuous

most frozen foods - -10 degrees start and stop (range is from -20 to 0 degrees)
most refrigerated loads - 35 degrees start and stop mode

produce - can be anything but always set to continues, mostly I get are set to 35 up to 60 degrees, anywhere in this range, it depends on the produce, potatoes I had were at 50 and melons I had were at 40 and broccoli I had once was at 36 so its all up to the sender what they want it set to and so on like I had bananas set at 42 and once they were set at 38 so you will get this info from dispatch but always ask the vendor/shipper and make sure its on the bills and go by what is on the bills not what someone else says..

now the trailers, hmmmm what we got are ltl trailers have a door on the side of the box, this will tell me it has dual units inside the box, outside is one unit still , it just controls 2 different units insides...one in the front and one it the rear, this is so you can haul 2 temperatures with a removable bulkhead inside to separate the 2... mostly its for frozen and products...never had I had 2 different temps on like a refrigerated load but it can be 40 degrees in half the box and 60 in the other half but mostly what I do is haul frozen and refrigerated to the same place..... now with a straight truckload trailer it has one unit inside at the front and has a chute attached and runs along the roof inside the box to push the cool air to the back of the trailer, make sure this chute is not ripped or torn and is attached at the front unit or the back of the trailer will not cool, never stack anything to block the airflow or you might have problems at the rear of the trailer... now hauling ltl with a truckload trailer , well I won,t tell how but its not fun , you must unhook the shoot and let air flow through the bulk head and lay cardboard down on the floor to keep from freezing the product at the rear and its all a mess to deal with, and I always end up having to do it, would be easier if all trailers had a dual unit and then set both to the same temp when hauling one product, so hopefully this company knows that and will make yer life simple and not be like my company....

one great tip is to never let the trailer run out of fuel, it is a pain to prime and get it started again...

if you get the alternator light coming on, this is a pain to jump start the unit, most new trailer have a wire that plugs into the batteries on the truck just in-case you need to start the unit, also if you drain the batteries on the truck you can jump the truck from the reefer too , but a small company should take care of their stuff better and you should have to only turn on and set temp and its that easy.....

The only thing to add about Reefers is either ya Love Em or ya Hate Em cause it is a love hate thing

Hopefully, the company will spend some time with you on how to run the reefer. To set the reefer is not really a big deal, it depends on who made it and when. On some its as easy as pressing a button and answering the prompts, others you have to set switches. One big difference you will notice is when you are trying to sleep and the reefer cuts in and out.